Slidable jaw wrench



Jan. 9, 1951 R W, ROOT 2,537,860

SLIDABLE JAW WRENCH Filed March 24, 1948 Patented Jan 9, 1951 ,e l ,after ell epereeive eeve'eei1t-erpetrekei the I Witheet raising', er. lwefidg tidpen e1: lrein 'dei .it tem, the: mit@ i ter each-operative movement' or adL veneieeyetre edereef-,- l. IA am'Y a'vs'fare"y that heretofore: vv'ranches*` have been medewhiehheifeineldded he dlee heed; asteteerydew 0.111 th' heed en., idw which is" movable'4 I'elalti'veito" an u `4 "head, ofthe' Wreeee,i against the aetiee* ef asbrina ee'e's te feilitete u'eegehdeneetienef the Weeeehid places in -wnienjit difnuit to, raise'iand retract the' W Heh after' "eneret'iv'e' mei/ement" er edi/.ein leeetr'ekel te eef upenfenilt er belt' heed ,.fewereri,ieeefezee'rani aw, re; nene efedeh rior We ches has made' p VisionA Vfor` enabling" either Qle 'Dt the@ tW'Q Yia' idf the" Wre'rieh vtribe rendered seieiziive1yniovente' upon anni fugitive tothe head: of the WrenohjWhileLat' thes'anie timeielatehing thej..9theeie`u againjet movement relative' iq ari-1; upon* the' head of the wrench in the,dse,thereef-Y Anccrdi'ngly, an objet oflthewplr invenf tienne@ provide@ newerd Heier ed Wrench includilng'uajwhandle portion, aNhe'adMa pair V of iene mei/ably'. meente@ .e' they heed 0f.t'he wge'nelmr, and;nianually'adjustable nieans'gmounted and; carried" ery; inei,iead'v of the wrench while, ai; une, Sametime; euo'winethje pin'epiaw te relative.tek and Ideen" thelh'eed ef. the' l g the' operation of" turning'v a' nut eb-ieee ,et eee'eesent..levenden is te provide'q'infthe new wrenhfa'lnovel evicerfc selectively latching either ofhthel; rela'ti and uj 'neadefjin "wwren'en ri-d against rd'ilveirfeetgre e ,Anreddiee ebieei;di the .invention en iii provide in the' wrench Va novel ponstruetion and. arrangementior varyingpradjusting the effective width oft# Asgg'ae betweenthelujaws oni-he newwienehee ,Sie eeeeie dienewwreneh to' b e adjusted or acc mod atefdfto nuts'jan'jd bolt heads of slightly` varv Hfg; o r ldifferent s i'zes Scripten aiideieimserid ere-iiiusialted the" 2 ect 'partying' drawings," 'wi'h by way of ineslirai snows'- p'i erred" embodiments' and the principles thereof" and'what 1" now' consider to 'be applying" those' principles? other embodiments of the invention'l ern-body the saaie or equivalent principles,L mayr beJ used andy structural changes Vlnaybe :made as desired by tn'oseskilled in thea'rtwithout departing' from' th present iin/'entren-` and thev urview' of the appended claims. FgjI-i's a toplo'lan" View fa wrenohenrbodv'- ing'fmv invention? Fi. 2' i's" a front end elevational view as seen lfrom" the' topL intFi'g: I;1

Figi.' 3 i's a fragmentary' plan" sectional" View illustiatirfgV the'construction'of theV new wrench j Fie. 4isatransversesectioralvew Online lli-4 in Fig-"3? e Fg;1'5 is affragmentary detail sectional View on line l5 5 in" 1" illustrating theV construction of the' adjustable ygrippingV plate'emboded'in the new wrench, together with'the' novel means for adjusting the same upon and relativetdthe jaw on which 4,the said-gripping plate is mounted Fig. G'isafragrnentary sectional view on line t-:iinFe- 1:' i We,

*li|g,rj7irs ajperspelctive view illustrating the conistructionofloneuof the movable jaws embodied in the new Wrench; and Y .V Fig. 8 isra fragmentary planjwew illustrating theqconstructionlof the headof the new wrench with' the ,cover plateY therefor" removed. AA pljeferred emloodiment ofqthe new Wrench is/illuvstrated in the drawnggwherein it is generallvlindicated at [9; and comprises a handle l land a head portion l 2 formed integrally therewith. A t

The vhea-dfportim I2 of the new wrench'oil has arpard of divergingvslotsnor sockets i3 ,and i4 formed tljlereink and these YslotsY or Ysockets I3 and lfljare interoonnectedby a curved or arcuate slot or recesshlwhich is also formed in the head portion I2 of the wrench yl0t Thus, as shown in F'g, the slots or socketsv i3 and lil and `the slot l5 ,form alco ntrruousI slot or recess in the head l2'o'f theninew' wrench. y

As show/nin the drawing, the'new wrench IU ncludesf'avmo'vableclampng jaw I6 and a rnov-` able clamping" jaw Il. The movable clamping jaw 'I lneludesva tongue or base portion I8', which isf slidably mouhtedin the slot or socket i3' in or base portion 20, which is slidably mounted in the slot or socket I4, and a gripping head 2 I.

As best shown in Fig. 3, the tongue portions I8 and 2@ of the movable jaws IE and I1 are interconnected by a coil tension spring 22 which is disposed within the arcuate slot or recess I5 which is formed in the head I2. One end portion of this coil tension spring 22 is attached to a pin 23 which is mounted in an opening 46 in the base or tongue portion I8 of the movable jaw I6 (Fig. 3) and the other end portion of the coil tension spring 22 is attached to a similar pin 24 which is mounted in an opening 41 in the tongue portion of the movable jaw I1, (Figs. 3 and 1).

The tongue portion I8 of the movable jaw I6 has a latching notch or recess 25 found therein upon its inner` side surface and the tongue portion 20 of the movable jaw I1 has a similar latching notch or recess 2B formed therein upon its inner said surface. The head I2 of the wrench IIJ has a transverse slot 21 formed therein and this transverse slot 21 extends between and interconnects the two slots or sockets I3 and I4, (Fig. 8). A latch member or bar 28 is slidably mounted in the transverse or interconnecting slot 21.

This slidable latch member or bar 28 has an end portion 29 which is latchingly engageable in the latching notch or recess 25 which is formed in the tongue portion I8 of the movable jaw IE and the slidable latch member or bar 28 has an end portion 3o which is latchingly engageable in the latching notch or recess 26 which is formed in the tongue portion 20 of the movable jaw I1. A knurled linger grip or handle element 3| is mounted on the slidable latch member or bar 28 approximately midway between the ends thereof and this knurled finger grip or handle element 3I works in and. projects through an elongated slot 32 which is formed in a cover plate 33 which is attached to the head I2 of the wrench IU by means of a suitable fastening element in the form of a countersunk screw 34, (Fig. 1). It will be noted, in this connection, that the cover plate 33, when mounted in position of use, lies in the recessed surface of the head I2 formed by the slots or sockets I3 and I4 of the recess I 5 and lies flush with the outer surface of the handle Il (Figs. 2, 4 and 6).

As shown in Fig. 3, the head portion I9 of the movable jaw I6 has an adjustable gripping member or plate 35 mounted thereon on its inner surface. plate 35 is adjustably and slidably mounted upon the head I 9 of the movable jaw I5 by means of a relatively short guide pin 36 and a relatively long guide pin 31 which are integrally attached at their inner ends to the adjustable gripping plate 35. These guide pins 36 and 31 are slidably mounted in and work in holes 38 and 39, respectively, which are formed in the head I9 of the movable jaw IB. The adjustable gripping plate 35 has a screw 4I) attached thereto between the guide pins 36 and 31 and this screw 40 is arranged in a slot or opening 4I which is formed in the head I9 ci the movable jaw I6. A knurled finger grip member 42 is threaded onto the screw 40 between the ends thereof and this knurled linger grip member 42 works in a slot 43 which is provided therefor in the head IS of the movable jaw I6 (Figs. 3 and 5). In order to facilitate access to the knurled linger grip member 42 the side portions of the head This adjustable gripping member or ,f

I 9 of the movable jaw I 6 are recessed as at 44 and 45 (Fig. 5).

The use and operation of the new wrench are as follows: The parts of the new wrench may be assembled as shown in the drawing. When thus assembled either of the two movable jaws I6 and I1 may be conditioned for sliding movement relative to and upon the head I2 of the wrench by manipulating the knurled linger grip 3I on the slidable latch member 28. Thus, if it is desired to render the jaw I6 movable relative to and upon the head I2 of the wrench this may be accomplished by sliding the slidable latch member 28 to the left, as seen in Fig. l, so as to project the end portion 30 of the slidable latch member 28 into the latching notch or recess 28 in the tongue or base portion 20 of the movable jaw I1, thereby latching the jaw I1 against slidable movement upon and relative to the head I 2 of the wrench. When the new wrench is then applied to a nut or bolt head the jaw corner portion of the nut or bolt head will engage the lower inside corner portion of the gripping plate 35 on the head I9 of the movable jaw I6 and will thereupon slide the movable jaw I6 outwardly in its slot or socket I3 in the head I2 of the wrench I0, thereby enlarging the space between the two jaws I 6 and I1 due to the angular relationship of the sockets or slots I3 and I4 in the head I2 of the wrench I0. As the inner surface of the gripping plate 35 on the head I9 of the jaw I6 moves over the surface of the nut or bolt head the coil tension spring 22 will retract the movable jaw IS in its socket I3.

In this manner the newwrench may be employed to manipulate a nut or bolt head without removing it therefrom.

When it is desired to render the jaw II movable upon and relative to the head I2 of the wrench this may be accomplished by manipulating the nger grip member 3| so as to move the latch bar 28 into the position in which it is shown in Figs. 1 and 3, thereby projecting the end portion 29 of the latch bar 28 into latching engagement in and with the latching notch or recess 25 which is formed in the tongue or base portion I8 of the jaw I6. In thismanner the jaw I6 is latched against movement upon and relative to the head I2 of the wrench III while, at the same time, the jaw I1 is rendered movable relative thereto.

During the use of the wrench, when the parts are thus arranged, the jaw I1 will be urged outwardly in the slot or socket I4, against the action of the coil tension spring 22, by jamming engagement of a corner of the nut or bolt head against the lower inside corner portion 48 of the head portion 2| of the jaw I1 and, thereby will enlarge the space between the heads I9 and 2| of the jaws I6 and I1, respectively, due to the diverging relationship of the slots or sockets I3 and I4 in the head I2 of the wrench I0. As the head portion 2I of the movable jaw I1 passes over the surface of the nut or bolt head, the coil tension spring 22 will retract the movablejaw I 1 in its slot or socket I4 in the head I2 of the wrench I8.

The effective width or thickness of the movable jaw I6 may be varied, so as to vary the effective width of the space between the head portions I 9 and 2I of the jaws I6 and I1 and thus accommodate the new wrench to nuts and bolt heads of slightly diierent or varying sizes. This may be accomplished by rotating the knurled finger grip wheel or disc 42 upon the screw 40 and within the slot or recess 43 in which the wheel or disc 42 is mounted (Figs. 3 and 5). This operation enables the gripping plate 35 to be moved inwardly or outwardly relative to the body portion of the head I9 of the jaw l5 so as to vary the effective width of the space between the heads I9 and 2l of the jaws I0 and il and thus adjust the eiiective size of the wrench to nuts or boltl heads of slightly varying sizes. During this operation the plate 35 is guided by movement of the guide pins 36 and 3l in the holes 38 and 39. When it is desired to retract the grip-ping plate 35 into the position in which it is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing this may be accomplished by rotating the disc or wheel 42 in a direction opposite to the direction in which the disc or wheel 42 is rotated to move the gripping plate 35 outwardly relative to the main body portion of the head I9 of the clamping jaw I6.

It will be noted that the single coil tension spring 22 retains the movable jaws I6 and l'i in the guide slots i3 and I4 provided therefor in the head i2 of the wrench while permitting selective slidable movement of the two jaws in the slots i3 and ifi, as explained hereinbefore.

It will thus be seen from the foregoing description, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, that the present invention has the desirable advantages and characteristics, and accomplishes its intended objects, including these hereinbefore pointed out and others which are inherent in the invention.

I claim:

l. A wrench comprising a handle and a head formed integrally therewith, the said head of the wrench having a pair of diverging sockets formed therein, a gripping jaw slidably mounted in each of the said sockets, a coil tension spring mounted in the said head of the wrench between the said gripping jaws and their sockets and having its end portions attached to the said gripping jaws, the said coil tension spring being adapted to be expanded by outward sliding movement of the said gripping jaws upon and relative to the said justable means slidably mounted in the said head of the wrench for selectively latching either of the said gripping jaws against slidable movement upon and relative to the said head of the wrench while allowing the other one of the said gripping jaws to be moved upon and relative to the said head of the said wrench against the action of the said coil tension spring, each of the said gripping jaws having a latching recess formed therein, the said manually adjustable latching means including a latch bar slidably mounted in the said head ofthe saidv wrench for slidable movement between the said gripping jaws, the said slidable latch bar having one end portion which is selectively latchingly engageable in the latching recess formed in one of the said gripping jaws, and the said slidable latch bar having another end portion which is latchingiy engageable in the said latching recess formed in the other of the said gripping jaws.

2. A wrench as defined in claim 1 in which the said head of the said wrench has an arcuate slot formed therein and extending between and interconnecting the said sockets, and in which the said coil tension spring includes a central portion mounted in the said arcuate slot between the said sockets. y

RALPH W. ROOT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS France Dec. 15, 1923 

